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OF LANSING
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New Judaica Store
Offers More Than Books
TANYA GAZDIK
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ON LEASE OR BUY:
1-800-333-8696
OR CALL COLLECT
1-517-394-8000
•
Sender Kagan and
1993 LS 400
Chaim Roetter check
out Judaica toys.
LEXUS OF LANSING
The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
for a personal showing
can-800-333-8696 or call collect 517-394-8000
Exit 104 off 1-96 • 5709 S. Pennsylvania, Lansing • 517/394-8000
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FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
23623 Farmington Road • Farmington, Michigan 48336
renda Wapner skipped
along the wall filled with
toys at Esther's Judaica
Giftworld while her
mother, Enid, browsed through
a section of books.
Like many others who came
to the store's grand opening two
weeks ago expecting to find just
another bookstore, the West
Bloomfield family was happily
surprised by the wide selection
of merchandise.
Brenda, 7, and her sister, Re-
becca, 10, were captivated by
the dozens of children's items,
including stickers, Shabbat puz-
zles, holiday cookie cutters, even
a stuffed Torah.
"I'm very happy to have
something like this out in this
area," Mrs. Wapner said. "It's
nice not to have to go all the
way to Southfield or Oak Park.
And they've done a nice job hav-
ing everything here."
Esther's Judaica Giftworld is
in West Bloomfield's Cross-
winds Mall on Orchard Lake
Road at Lone Pine Road. The
other large Judaica stores in the
area are Spitzer's Hebrew Book
Store and Gift Center in South-
field and Borenstein's Book and
Music Store in Oak Park. A
handful of smaller stores are of-
fered in private homes and at
temples.
About 30 percent of the 2,400
square-foot store is books.
Everything from scholarly the-
ological tomes to light humor
and fiction is available. The
store boasts a large selection of
music songbooks and tapes both
in Hebrew and in English.
"We think music is a large
part of Jewish life and we want-
ed to have one of the most thor-
ough music selections in
Michigan," said store manager
Chaim Roetter.
Esther's is owned by a group
of Detroit area investors. Con-
sultant Sender Kagan, who
previously owned a Judaica gift-
shop in Montreal, was brought
in to set up the store, which is
named for one of the investors'
mothers.
Much of the merchandise
comes directly from Israel while
some is purchased from U.S.
wholesale companies, Mr. Ka-
gan said.
"We want to carry something
for everyone, from some of the
more elegant and interesting
giftware that is not available
everywhere to regular items,"
he said. "We're also willing to
special order and customize."
Local residents no longer
have to travel to New York for
special items, he said.
"We're filling a void. I think
it's a large community that
needs a store like this," Mr. Ka-
gan said.
An automated computer in-
ventory system linked to the
cash register will keep track of
what items are in the most de-
mand and help influence or-
dering, Mr. Roetter said.
"Our goal is to make the
customer happy, of course,"
he said.
A wall in the store is covered
with dozens of different
yarmulkes. Most children en-
tering the store make a beeline
to the whimsical styles sporting
images of cartoon characters
such as Barney the Dinosaur
and the Simpsons. Exquisite
prayer shawls also are avail-
able.
"Artwork is another area the
store will specialize in," said Mr.
Kagan. Local and internation-
al Jewish art will be offered, he
said. A striking oil painting by
Chaim Sherrf, a Canadian Is-
raeli artist, is displayed.
Sterling silver pieces, in-
cluding an $8,000 decorative
box, are from the Sotheby's col-
lection of Judaica from New
York.
Megan Docks, 10, of West
Bloomfield admired a necklace
while her brother, Adam, 14,
had a set of coins from Israel
giftwrapped.
"They're for my bubbie," he
said. "It's her birthday. And she
likes collecting different types
of money."
Mr. Kagan said more jewel-
ry and coins sets will be avail-
able as store workers have time
to unpack merchandise still in
the back room. He said the store
will have many more items in
the weeks to come.
"We hope to have everything
in place before Chanukah," Mr.
Kagan said. ❑